While on a business trip, a seatmate of mine, whom I didn't engage in much conversation, mentioned before leaving that Kailua and Kaneohe was worth a trip if visiting Honolulu.

Comments? It's not clear to me why even after a brief internet search. Kailua seems to be a small town in the 50's that is now 50,000 population. Both have some views of mountains, I think. I saw that there is a wedding chapel, the Aloha Ke Akua, developed by singer Danny Kaleikini in Kaneohe but I'm not getting married.

The two high points for me on that side of the island are Lanikai Beach in Kailua, one of the prettiest beaches on the island, and the Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe, which is very simple but beautiful and serene.

Thanks for the 1st reply. Others are welcomed. Based on the recommendation, Lanikai Beach is now a "must see" though I'll decide how long when I see it. I looked up the Byodo-In Temple on the web and I think that it was featured in a Hawaii Five-0 episode that I remember. I haven't seen too many episodes, but I saw a rerun recently that featured the temple.

There's a scene in "Pearl Harbor" where the Dolittle raid planes are seen flying over the Byodo-In Temple (it's doubling as Japan). Well worth a stop for some nice photo opps.

Ken

PS: Kaneohe Bay is beautiful.

A few years ago, I visited Kailua and a small part of Kaneohe. I should have stayed longer than the 2 hours or so that I did. It is a beautiful area. There are no hotels that I know of but I think there are B&B and owners rent their houses.

In my opinion, a worthwhile area to visit. I would be interested in comments from those who visited there longer as I want to know more about this area.

The beaches in Kailua are great although windy. Be careful where you stay, we stayed two night at Schraders and had roosters crowing all night long and the motel's snorkel boat was unreliable. Also we saw an attempted theft at one of the beaches, keep your valuables close.

Theft of personal belongings on beaches in Hawaii is common (here in Florida, too!), but it is particularly common in the lower income areas of Hawaii. Waimanalo, just below Kailua, falls into this category and there seems to be quite a bit of crime there. Or at least there was when I lived on Oahu several years ago.